Facing Fears
by SithsWitch
Summary: In the midst of a terrible storm, Dean Winchester must face his greatest fear.


**Title: Facing Fears**

**Rating: K+**

**Author: JediLlama**

**Summary: In the midst of a terrible storm, Dean Winchester must face his greatest fear.**

**Genre: Comedy/ Friendship**

**_(A/N): For Bailey 3_**

* * *

The old stone walls of the bunker creaked loudly as the relentless wind blew forcefully against the building. The storm had gotten much stronger over the past couple of hours, and the Winchester brothers were safe in their makeshift home rather than out on the road following a case. For the past couple of days, the two men had been holed up inside whilst news of a hurricane fluttered through the social media. Dean came to the conclusion that there must be a God, as he was secretly praying for a break from hunting. The Mark of Cain was starting to weasel its bloody thoughts into the hunter's head, and he was desperate for a little time off to relax and compose himself. Sam was also glad at first, but was now starting to get antsy. He had made such a habit of trying to find a cure for his brother, and not being able to leave the bunker was starting to put him on edge. Even with all of the information present for him to use, Sam couldn't make much of a difference without being able to gather supplies or potential remedies. But that was yet another reason as to why Dean was thankful for the storm. It seemed that no matter how many times he tried to convince Sam that there was no cure and that he should just let it go, his younger brother continued to search relentlessly. It was starting to concern Dean more than he would care to admit.

"Hey Sammy?" Dean called as he slapped a piece of bread on top of his award winning sandwich. Listening for the trademark sound of his brother's heavy footsteps clonking their way to the kitchen, the elder hunter made his way to the table and sat down. Just as he was relishing the first bite of his masterpiece, Sam poked his head around the doorway, his laptop peeking out slightly as well.

"Yeah?" He asked, his eyes pleading for Dean to say something interesting to get his mind off of his boredom.

"Where's Cas?" The angel had been keeping both brothers company in the bunker while the storm was passing through, but Dean realized that he hadn't seen the angel in a few hours. Normally he wouldn't be too concerned, but Castiel had taken it upon himself to follow Dean around like a little lost puppy all week, which made his absence obvious. Considering that the reason Cas was there in the first place was because of an argument he had had with some heaven officials, resulting in another hopefully-temporary banishment from heaven, Dean was slightly worried. The sheepish look that his younger brother was giving him didn't make him feel any better, either.

"Well... Uh... He's kind of out running an errand right now?" Sam answered, his response sounding like a question. Dean placed his sandwich down on his plate and raised an eyebrow.

"An errand? What kind of errand?" He questioned suspiciously. Sam scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, looking at the floor to avoid eye contact with his brother.

"He's, um... Following a lead on a cure for the mark." He stated.

"Damnit Sam!" Dean exclaimed, slamming a fist onto the table. "It's windy enough to blow someone to bloody Oz out there, and you send our angel to follow a _lead_?! I told you to drop the freaking cure for the mark crap!"

"I know Dean, but it's out there! I know it is! There's nothing else I can do holed up in here anyway. You might as well just shut up and let me try." Sam replied as his brother glared at him. Dean huffed and picked up his sandwich once again. This argument had been going on for weeks and Dean had reached the point where he knew that arguing with his bratty little brother wasn't going to change things. As he chewed, the elder hunter looked at Sam suspiciously.

"So when's Cas supposed to get back?" He asked, dismissing their argument for the time being.

"I don't know," Sam replied honestly, moving to sit across the table from his brother. "He should have been back by now." Dean looked up in concern, his anger starting to boil up again. To the hunter's dismay, it seemed that whenever the angel Castiel was in danger, Dean had no control over his emotions.

"What if he's in trouble?!" Dean demanded, making a move to stand up. He was halted by Sam jumping up and pushing him back into his seat whilst letting out a quick reply.

"I'm sure he's fine! He probably just had some difficulty finding the dragon blood resin for the spell. Besides, he's a big angel, he can take care of himself." As Dean opened his mouth to protest, the brothers heard a loud bang from the front of the bunker and quickly ran to investigate.

Upon reaching the main room, Sam and Dean saw Castiel awkwardly fighting to shut the large door with one hand, whilst the other hand remained clutching at something inside his coat. The wind pushed forcefully against the door, and Sam quickly ran over to shut it whilst Dean made a b-line for the ruffled looking angel.

"Cas!" Dean exclaimed, running up to the dark haired man. "What happened? Did you get hurt? Let me see your hand!" The eldest Winchester continued firing questions and demands at Castiel, but the angel just looked at him expressionlessly as he waited for him to finish.

"Dean." Sam said firmly, gripping his brother's shoulder and pulling him back slightly. Dean mumbled a quick apology and stopped talking, giving Cas his full, less extreme, attention. "What's up?" Sam asked Cas suspiciously, eyeing the hand that the angel kept hidden inside his trench coat.

"I-" he started, fumbling slightly with his words. "Don't be mad."

"Don't be- Cas, what did you do?!" Dean shouted, concern flaring in his green eyes. As Dean began frantically firing off questions again, Sam watched as Cas slowly pulled his arm out of his jacket, bringing with it a small white blur. Sam erupted in laughter, cutting off Dean's insistent questioning. The elder brother still hadn't noticed Castiel's small movement, and was watching his brother confusedly.

"Where did you get that, Cas?" Sam asked. Dean looked to Cas and saw that he was looking down into his hands. Following his gaze, the hunter finally noticed what his friend was holding and let out a feminine shriek, jumping behind his younger brother. Sam continued to laugh as Castiel tried desperately to explain himself, assuming from Dean's reaction that he was angry.

"He was huddling for shelter behind a rock down the street. He needed help. I named him Steve."

Sam was now laughing so hard that tears were starting to form in his eyes. He clutched his stomach and tried to compose himself whilst Castiel stood in confusion, nestling Steve gently in his hands.

"Sam, why are you laughing so hard?" The angel questioned. In response, Sam doubled over laughing again, pointing a finger over his shoulder at Dean as a way of explanation. The older hunter was cowering behind his brother, watching the bundle in Castiel's hands fearfully. "Dean-?" Castiel started, moving forward. Dean quickly jumped back and lifted his hands up in front of him defensively.

"Keep it away from me!" He shouted, eyes darting back and forth for an escape route.

"Dean, you are... afraid of Steve?" the angel asked with confusion, the sound of Sam's laughing still engulfing the foyer of the bunker.

"No!" He defended quickly. "Yes? A little..." Castiel's eyes began to glimmer with amusement.

"Dean," he started, beginning to chuckle at the hunter. "Steve is a bunny, he cannot hurt you."

"That's what they want you to think! They're devil spawn, a gift from Lucifer himself!" Dean insisted, moving further behind Sam. Castiel's brow ruffled in confusion.

"I do not think that my brother birthed these creatures..." Castiel murmured, looking down at Steve. The little critter shifted in the angel's hands and poked its head up to look towards Dean as he let out another small shriek. Steve was a tiny bunny, most likely a baby, who fit comfortably in Castiel's hands. His fur was snow white all over save for a few black spots around his small pink nose, and one ear stood straight up whilst the other flopped down over one of his jet black eyes. The angel thought he was an adorable creature, but perhaps humans did not perceive them the same way as angels did. It would not be the first time that he had made a mistake such as this.

Finally, Sam managed to compose himself and stand up straight, moving out of the way of his brother. Dean let out an undignified huff at the loss of his shield, but said nothing else.

"Cas," Sam started in a parental tone. "You know that taking care of a pet is a big responsibility, right? It needs to be constantly fed and given fresh water. You also have to play with it and clean up after it." Cas looked up from the bundle and nodded in response to Sam. A moment of silence passed over the group before Sam spoke up again. "Are you willing to commit to that?"

"Wait, what?! You're _not_ gonna let him _keep_ it?!" Dean exclaimed, looking frantically between his brother and the menacing ball of fluff. Sam shrugged, working to hide the smirk that was forming on his face.

"I don't see why he can't so long as he takes care of it. It's not like one little bunny is going to throw off the family business." He said as his older brother manoeuvred himself so that he was facing Sam, but also not exposed to Steve.

"But he's_ evil_!" Sam rolled his eyes.

"Don't be such a baby."

"But! Evil!"

"Please Dean?" Castiel spoke up desperately, fixing the eldest Winchester with the cutest puppy dog eyes the man had seen since Sam was a toddler. "He will die if we force him to go back out into the storm." Dean looked between Cas, Sam, and the bunny, desperately trying to make a decision. As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't say no to Castiel; especially when he was looking at him with those damn eyes.

"Come on dude, it's time to face your fears." Sam added, thumping Dean on the shoulder.

"Shut up." Dean snapped. "Fine, you can keep the damn rabbit. But I am never going anywhere near it." With that, the hunter turned on his heel and stalked back to the kitchen to finish his long forgotten sandwich. He would never admit to the flutter in his stomach at the happiness on his angel's face when he said yes, nor would he admit to sneaking in to see the bunny every once and awhile when Cas was away. And he definitely wouldn't tell anyone that he actually found the little guy kind of cute, and that his innocence reminded him of Cas.

"So why is Dean so afraid of these creatures?" Castiel asked as Dean walked away.

"No idea," Sam replied. "He's been terrified of them since we were kids."

"Oh," Castiel said as he scratched the bunny behind his floppy ear. "Well, come along Steve, we must find you a place to sleep." He set off to make accommodations for the bunny, smiling to himself at how adorable it was that the almighty Dean Winchester; The Righteous Man and The Sacred Vessel of Michael, was so afraid of something so small and innocent.


End file.
